Air Houston

You are very fortunate to be able to purchase so many forward cabin tickets so cheaply. You are likely buying most of those tickets at below United’s cost to deliver the service. That should be it’s own reward for you. I would gladly trade my GS benefits including mileage earnings and upgrades for the ability to regularly buy tickets at those prices. Instead of the twenty percent or so rebate on my purchases I would save a lot more.

tr3k

I happen to be optimistic - they can't change it too drastically. As it stands, UA basically wants you to collect 60K award miles to get "gold". That's probably one of the highest levels in the *A as is, and UA earnings are already pretty low.

fumje

Without doing a thorough analysis, I would guess the difference about your schedule patterns. If you are going to Europe on Sunday/Monday and coming back Wednesday/Thursday, you will be getting expensive fares.

SS255

I was doing some random comparisons of paid J on LH vs. paid J, PP and W fares on UA for mid-week flights in February*. The overwhelming data which I discovered is that paid J on LH was roughly equivalent to W on UA, was about 1/3 cheaper than PP on UA, and more than 50% cheaper than the cheapest J fare on UA.

Conclusion: For roughly the same price, I will be able to confirm J at booking, I will earn more "dollars" than I would on UA, I will have a better inflight experience, and I will get much better sleep, because I will be able to fly to Europe nonstop instead of connecting in EWR. (Paging Kacee.)

I honestly feel like I was beaten once too many times, and I finally gained the courage to leave this long-term abusive relationship. And now I am discovering how wonderful it is to play the field and date "nice guys"!!!

*I fully realize that YMMV with fare comparisons depending upon route, day of the week, and time of the year.

Another positive that I see -- even after dropping down to 1MM Gold (or earned Platinum) is that the people who earn 1K on OPM are already buying the seats that squeeze PZ inventory. So, the same number of available seats for PZ clearance will remain pretty consistent. But, there will be fewer 1K's on Y fares competing for the upgrade inventory. Even if the 1K population stays the same, those "replacement 1K's" would be current Plats or even Golds whose companies/clients paid for J. So, even if I were to waitlist with miles and co-pay as a lesser-elite, my clearance rate may not actually drop. And, as UA outfits more aircraft with PP, I can "jump the queue" by booking R class, and at least sit in a comfy seat if my miles/co-pay upgrade does not clear (or if I do not snag a TOD out from under a 1K). Of course, this also means that I would be flying UA longhaul -- which I may not actually after I lose my 1K status on 2/1/21!!!

The end game for me is a flat-bed seat on longhauls. All of my travel is personal, and I was stretching to make 1K for the 6 GPU's. If I can buy my way into flatbed paradise for the same as it cost me to gamble with GPU's, what's the point in striving for the PlusPoints equivalent of GPU's? I was mostly buying P fares for RPU-able flights, anyway.

Kacee

I sincerely doubt that.

Only someone who is used to GS level spend would consider my UA spend cheap. I assume you're not buying P fares, so you're likely unaware that it's not uncommon for a good international P fare to come in under 15 cpm. And talking about "cost of service" in this context . . . let's call it inapt. UA's costs are mostly fixed, and every ticket sale is marginal revenue. The fact is UA can't fill its cabins with travelers whose employers will spring for a J, C, or D. That's exactly why they offer Z and P . . . otherwise the seat would fly empty or go --shudder-- to an upgrader or non-rev
Oh absolutely. If I shifted my CX spend to UA, I'd clear $24k. I'm not willing to pay more for UA's inferior product and schedule. That's the "getting out of the abusive relationship" part of this thing.

Aussienarelle

Another positive of using *Alliance for PQP is if I fly LH/LX/OS I get EC261 protection both ways.

FlyerTalker70

I've had a chance to reflect on these changes and have been very fortunate to have several lovely FT friends who have talked me off the ledge after hearing the enhancements yesterday. At one point I was in such a panic that I had to pull a brown paper bag I reserve for TSA queues out of my bag and breathe into it!

I think the key here is how you play the new system. One positive benefit is now a whole bunch of *A partners open themselves up for accrual on MilagePlus where that did not exist before. Case in point, PQM earnings on SQ were anemic across most fare classes. Under the new system, if you fly Premium on SQ you'll earn greater than 100% milage towards PQS. The other positive I see is now upgrades and co-pays are included in PQP calculation. In other words, I can buy my cheap K fare long-hauls on CoUniHound, then proceed to upgrade them either via an attractive ToD or with a MUA. Frankly I wouldn't mind paying $600-$1000 to upgrade a flight like LHR > SYD on UA having paid a couple hundred bucks on my K fare to there. Third, several sweet spots have emerged where they didn't exist before. Premium Economy earns 125-150% on a number of Star Partners, with some P fares earning 200% (see AC). It would not be that difficult to rack up 1K with a couple of well timed P fares on the Maple Leaf.

The other thing that we can't see and won't know is what happens during CY 2021 in terms of how crowded United Clubs are, how long the upgrade lists are (it seems on most domestic flights every Tom, Dick and Harry with a MilagePlus number is on that list) and the availability of E+ seating. Booting those leeches who contribute 0 to UA other than owning a branded credit card is an improvement I'm willing to take in return for me giving up the non-resident waiver.

Safe Travels,

James

Repooc17

Uh? Only F fares and non-discounted J fares earn more than 100%. Also, SQ is not a preferred partner, so the partner earning would be smaller. PQS doesn't exist under the system.

You have contributed to UA so much with your k fares.

FlyerTalker70

Fair enough however the amount over 100% can be quite significant:





Couple things:

1. Contrary to popular belief, I don't fly with OPM. Every dime I spend on travel is my own, and I'm a poor student
2. By purchasing discounted K fares often many months in advance, I am reducing the inventory in the economy cabin for UA meaning they can fill those higher fare buckets sooner and are less likely to send out a bird with any empty seats

Safe Travels,

James

Repooc17

I understand you pay for your flights; as do I. Don't assume everyone on here is flying with OPM; most here are, but some are not.

The reason for my post quoting you: I hope you would tone down on belittling others; whether the lounge attendant, the person who may not have any status, etc. yes, you have the travel experience, but none of those folks have done anything to you, have they?

tomwhom

More likely the non-elite credit card holders may contribute more to UA than you do even though they can't reach 25K or 50K PQM, so I wouldn't call them leeches! Leeches should be those who scam UA with fake foreign addresses or elite match documents.

seat38a

Ok, so why is it so hard for "non leeches" to grasp that UNITED, DELTA, and AA sell miles to the CC companies. BILLIONS of dollars worth per year! On top of that, they get a percentage of the INTERCHANGE FEE and AF(Could be wrong on the AF part) and other revenue shares on interest, late fees etc.. Most "leeches" are earning United money daily by using their cobranded CC while some non leeches buy K fares once or twice a year.

Oh and in my case throw in $26K spend for just United flights on the card, which generally United would NOT have to pay any fees to Chase for the transaction!

Aussienarelle

If all that is true, and I am not doubting what you are saying, especially as on my recent United flights the CC has been pushed very heavily, it seems to me the recent changes for earning status have taken away any incentive to have a MP CC. I am thinking of cancelling my card except it does get me CPUs on award tickets and I just received upgrades on three out of my last four award flights so if I stay with United and am able to retain 1K status it will still pay for itself for the AF. I do have an Amex Platinum card that pays for itself with lounge access on non-Polaris flights.

econ

Like everything else, I’m sure it’s something that’s subject to change, but I wouldn’t think there would be too many changes to the partner earning charts.

Presumably, UA set the conversion factors (/5, /6) based on where they thought the appropriate PQP earning levels should be based on the existing charts.

I also consider the existing partner earning charts to be relatively stingy in the first place.

seat38a

It's still early. Who knows what will be added or removed to the CC's. The primary rental car insurance, club membership, and travel insurance is worth the $450 fee for me and have more than paid for it itself. I bring my parents along on trips and the travel insurance if bought per trip are $1500+ just for the two of them. Waiving LDW at rental cars per year alone makes up for the $450 annual fee.

But yes, everything I listed above in my original post is basic co branded CC 101 and revenue share was brought up when the whole renegotiation with Chase and their displeasure with Sapphire came up months ago.